Queen of Shadow's
by Nocturne no Kitsune
Summary: Not all is well in Jade Chan's world. The rush to stop Shendu from using Jackie to alter the Book Of Ages has brought about a much different ending. Now, young Jade Chan finds herself waking to a much different world.
1. Chapter 1

**Queen Of Shadows**

_A Jackie Chan Adventures FanFiction_

_Written by Nocturne No Kitsune_

_Beta'ed By WhisperToMeSoftly & Zim'sMostLoyalServant_

_Concept Aided by Eduard Kessel_

_Thank you guys, you were of big help._

Summery: **Not all is well in the Jackie Chan world, or Jade Chan's world even. The rush to stop Shendu from using Jackie to alter the Book Of Ages has brought about a much different ending. Now, young Jade Chan finds herself waking to a much different world then the one she was in. Instead of waking in a world ruled by demons, she finds herself in ancient times and with the weight of a crown and dark empire on her head.** **Spirits of Darkness call her Queen and Master, and an army stands ready to wage an unholy war in her name while the forces of Light scramble to arms to defend themselves and its champions stand to block the encroaching Shadows. Can Jade survive among the very forces of Darkness she now commands long enough to find help among a world that seeks to destroy her? Will she withstand the test of the Light that seeks to destroy her in the name of good to return to her world, her time? And in the very end, will she want to?**

Warnings:**Blood, light-to-mild violence, and possible light gore and cursing. If you're not one to like mental and moral issues, then this might not be for you.**

Rated:**T**

* * *

**Chapter One: Waking to Changes.**

It had all come down to this. Her trip from San Francisco to return to her parents, Shendu returning and possessing Uncle Jackie, and following them to Australia to stop Shendu from tampering with some old book. They had tracked the hijacked Jackie Chan here, to this mesa, and entered the sacred Hall of the Book of Ages to be met by the sight of a red-eyed and chuckling Jackie taking an ornate quill to the overly large book. Now, Jade knew one thing. That was that what Shendu was about to do was bad, and no one messed with her Uncle and got away with it. So with a speed born from martial arts training and her naturally energetic self, she hurled herself in a full-body tackle at her Uncle.

Chan's brat had grabbed hold of his elbow, thrashing and shouting like a rabid monkey. Shendu's rapturous joy turned to scarlet anger. He was a son of Xin'ron, a mighty Demon Sorcerer that had brought grand empires to their knees, and a mere mortal child would not thwart him yet again! Adding his own strength to Chan's he swung his arm with some minor magic brought to the front by his rage, and watched as her grip slipped and she was thrown back. He barely registered the sound of tearing paper; he was instead watching the child as she hit the floor hard, a pleasing crack the reward for his efforts. He turned back to the book, laughing as white light began to shine. His laughter died as he looked upon the page he had altered, a page that was torn nearly in two, the cut he had made with the quill blade seeping ink through to the pages below. The glow twisted and warped like a heat wave as it overcame him. Before his consciousness faded, he felt the same horrid chill that he had first learned was a sign of the Book's magic, that day Lo Pei overthrew him.

As for Jade Chan, she could do no more than lay upon the floor in pain listening to Shendu's laughter give way to a deafening roar. "_I really hope we didn't lose,_" was her last thought as darkness took her mind.

Jade's waking was a gradual process, drifting lazily from sleep to the waking world. Her dreams had been strange. She had dreamed herself to be the Queen of the Shadowkhan, standing atop a podium as a vast army of the demon ninja bowed down to her. She had nightmares of that horrible day, where she had been drunk on power and unable to tell friend from foe. Those were her worst nightmares, losing herself to darkness and usually involved a horrible fate for her family. This dream though, had been different. That feeling of being a prisoner in her own flesh had been absent and the darkness around her broken by candles into countless dancing shadows. And standing there amidst the ninja being worshiped she had felt, content. It definitely ranked among her stranger dreams she thought. Best not tell anyone about it though; they would only worry, she thought.

Before Jade could think on it anymore, the dream world around her faded completely as light seemed to creep in from the corners. The images of the various Shadowkhan faded with the world around her, and a enticing smell from nowhere seemed to find her nose and tempt Jade with its scent.

"_Smells like… smells like… smells like Uncle's herb tea, only better! And that smells like bread and jam!_"

When Jade opened her eyes, instead of the bed she expected and her Uncles surrounding her, she found herself looking up at what looked like the top of a poster bed. Shifting around, she found herself surrounded on all sides by thick, fluffy pillows and covered by a warm heavy blanket. She put her hands up and behind her and was surprised to feel how deep they sank into the bed itself.

"_So… so soft. Where am I?_"

When she finally managed to prop herself up, she looked around and did a reasonable impression of a fish as she took in the extravagance of the room she was in. It looked like something that belonged to a queen or a princess, everything looked priceless and irreplaceable. Yet even with all its extravagance, the room still somehow retained a sense of dignity. It did not look like a room that belonged to just any spoiled queen or bratty princess, it looked… special. Even the blanket she was half-under looked the same, with a simple yet beautiful design woven into it. Not that Jade would pick the color scheme, but it oddly suited it.

"_Seriously, someone needs to lay off the dark colors. All this black, red, blue and everything makes me feel depressed._"

Jade kicked off the blankets, and shimmied to the side of the bed and swung herself over the edge and off. Now that she was actually off the bed she could see just how big it was. It was absolutely HUGE compared to the tiny Jade; she was surprised she had not drowned in it at some point with all those pillows and blankets.

Jade was still admiring the bed when she felt a cold breeze around her ankles and legs, and finally looking down noticed what she was wearing. Instead of the clothes that she had had on during the fight, she was now in some sort of loose fitting robe/nightgown. Before she could admire the gown itself and wonder who or how she got undressed and then redressed in the first place, the same enticing smell that had helped wake her from her sleep hit her again.

Walking around the corner of the huge bed and following her nose, she found where it was coming from. There in the corner of the room and in front of a mirror was one of those low-slung Japanese tables, laid out with an array of breakfast foods to choose from. There was warm toast with jam and more. There was even a pot of herbal tea if her nose was telling her the truth and the slight trail of steam rising from the pot was any hint.

Ignoring any ideas of danger that come with waking up in a strange room and finding a full course breakfast laid out, Jade sat down on a conveniently placed cushion and reached for a piece of toast with jam. She took a bite and felt almost blissful at the rich taste that flavored her mouth, and closed her eyes and slowly chewed while she savored it. After she finished and swallowed, she quickly devoured the rest of the piece of toast and reached for another one.

That is, until she looked in the mirror; then Jade shrieked. She never shrieked, she screamed yes, but her lack of high-pitched shrieking was a point of pride for the young adventurer. Despite this she shrieked when she saw it. It was a small girl, roughly her age, with bluish-black hair flowing down from her shoulders. The reason for the shrieking being that the dark blue skin and glowing red eyes clearly announced this girl to be a Shadowkhan, or something of the like.

Her surprise grew when she realized the Shadowkhan girl had also fallen back in what appeared to be fright, propped back up on an elbow looking… The raw fear was replaced with a hunk of ice in her stomach as she put two and two together and tried to get five. She righted herself back on the cushion, as did the Shadowkhan girl. She raised a sleeve-covered hand and was matched with the same motion. Finally she shook her arm and sent the silk sleeve tumbling back to her elbow, revealing a thin blue arm and a delicate hand with blue black nails shaped into menacing points

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have lost cabin pressure," she whispered.

It was a mirror, she was that girl, she was a Shadowkhan, and this was a bad day. As four of the garden variety Shadowkhan sprang from the shadows and surrounded her with shuriken drawn she realized it had just gotten worse

Closing her eyes, she braced for a brutal beating or swift death by ninja… only for nothing to happen. Her natural curiosity got the better of her and she opened an eye. The Shadowkhan were indeed ready to attack, but they facing away from her.

"_They're protecting me?_" she thought.

Well if she was a Shadowkhan and this was anything like the last time, they would protect and obey her without question. The surprises kept coming when one of the Shadowkhan turned his head to regard her and unmistakably lifted an eyebrow, and revived Jade long enough for her to start thinking.

"_Alright, since when do Shadowkhan question their leaders? He's obviously asking what the heck is happening. Never mind, if they obey orders get rid of them. If they think I'm in danger it was because I shrieked."_

"Uhh, I burned my tongue on the tea. You can go now," she told them.

Her voice had also changed, though it was not like when she was queen last time. Instead of a constant airy hiss, it was just… airy, more of an echo of speech then the last time. The questioning Shadowkhan gave a slight nod and in a puff of smoke the four ninjas vanished.

Unfortunately, the vanishing of the four ninja's also heralded the vanishing of what little calm and collected thinking Jade had managed to accumulate, as she went into a silent panic, her thoughts racing.

"_Bad day bad day bad day bad day! What is going on here?! Come on Jade, get it together and think! Deep breaths like Jackie taught you, and think! What is the last thing you remember?"_

A few calming breaths later, and Jade was once again calm enough to think clearly, as she recounted events to herself.

"Ok, Shendu was all ghostly again and hijacked Uncle Jackie, so he could go and mess with some book with serious mystical mojo all the way in the deep down-under. I jumped him, and he tore a big hole in one of the pages when he KO'ed me, and the book started glowing. So what happened? Where the heck did I end up, and why am I all blue-skinned and red-eyed, and sleeping in the royal suite?"

Looking around the room for any clue or an escape route, Jade found something that could possible answer a few of her questions. A small door lead out to what looked like some sort of balcony, and with some trepidation Jade stepped out and looked over the landscape in shock. A single phrase managed to work its way up and out of her mouth, as she stared, and she would later recount on how accurately it described what she saw.

"Whoa… 'Lord of the Rings' much?"

What Jade saw could only come out of such a famous movie, that is if said movie had any sprawling Japanese-styled fortresses. Even then, it looked like she had jumped right into a spin-off. Below her and the tower she was apparently in, a small garden bloomed in a tasteful courtyard, boxed in on all sides by high stone wall except for one, which looked down onto a tiered fortress. Each level had high walls, and was carved almost entirely of black stone and dark wood, and roofed with a dark red tile of sorts. Smack-dab in the middle of it all, was a massive keep that took up the center-most tier.

Jade noted, that at the opposing end of the courtyard, was a single stone path that lead straight down into the back of the keep, and on both sides of the path stone walls and imposing guard towers gave Jade the feeling that being a uninvited guest was not a good idea. With a chill, it also gave her the feeling that if they did not want her to leave, then there was not a single chance in any netherworld of her walking down that path and getting to the end of it alive. Even from here, she could see figures walking back and forth in the towers, each carrying something that looked very much like longbows.

Looking behind her and up, Jade saw that there was no escape there either, for the fortress and the courtyard with the tower was nestled into the cold embrace of a large mountain, and what seemed to be large winged figures patrolled the skies. At the very top, she spotted a series of towers that decorated the mountain like a jagged crown, and watched as the flying shadows leaped from the towers and into the air.

All around her, there was nothing but black stone and dark wood, a shadowy blight of a fortress upon the land, and with the mountain looming behind it Jade wondered what it would look like to stand from afar and see it. On all sides, Jade was boxed in and with nowhere to go, trapped in the middle of a huge fortress. As Jade realized her conditions, once more a small and out-of-place comment escaped her.

"Oh boy, so not good."

Jade stared out and over the fortress for a bit longer, before something snapped, and she retreated back inside as fast as she could and shut the doors to the balcony. With a half-whimper, half-pitiful sob, Jade pressed her back to the closed Doors and slowly slid down until she was sitting. It wasn't shock, or panic that was setting it, it was a sudden realization of something far worse. Jade had suddenly realized that for once, she had to believe that she had jumped right in the fire from the frying pan with no way back and no-one to save her, and even worse she was not herself anymore. This time, there were no witty remarks to light of her situation, just the sudden realization that somehow, someway, everything was suddenly very wrong.

Pulling her knees up, she hugged them close to herself. With a slow, methodical pace, she raised a hand up to her face and let the long sleeve drop down to her elbow so she could examine it.

It was the same as when she had been eating and thought she was suddenly face to face with a girl Shadowkhan; an almost dark yet-not-quite light blue skin, with black and claw-like nails on a slender and manicured hand. No calluses, no marks, no imperfections. Jade could clearly see it was a child's hand, yet at the same time it was like it was more. Turning it over only revealed the same thing, no marks, calluses or scars to speak of – totally perfect in every way, smooth and warm like fine silk when she ran a finger over the palm. But she suddenly pulled her finger away, as if burned.

It was not her hand. It looked like her hand at first, but it was not hers. Her hand had thick and noticeable calluses from all the fighting and Kung Fu practice she did with Jackie on them, and thin scars from the times she fought, or the times she was tied up.

She stopped examining her hand and bowed her head to one side, and let the hair drop within easy reach. She pulled the length of ebony black to the front, and ran her fingers through it. To her, it felt even smoother then her skin had, a sort of smooth and gleaming curtain that hanged behind her. With the light in the room, she could see the hair shimmer almost, an almost-sparkle of sorts. It was so black, and perfect like the rest of her and seemed to drink in the light.

But it was not her hair, not at all. Her hair was short and spiky at the tips while smooth on the top, just the way she liked it. Like any girl she liked pampering her hair now and then, but it was nowhere near what she had now. This long, black, perfect hair was not hers; it had to belong to someone else. It just wasn't hers.

Jade stood up, and with her nightgown dragging she walked to stand in front of the table and mirror. Hugging herself, she could not help but feel through the fabric a lack of muscle tone, or muscles at all and that seemed to drive home the strange fears that were in her mind now. She was proud of the muscles she had, she worked hard for them, and they made her different then those blond-haired girly-girls that dominated her school. She could easily kick around anyone she wanted if she decided to do so at her school, and not just in her own grade. Not even the senior students could match her in a fight if it got hand-to-hand and she cut loose. Not that Jackie would like that, but still. But now, she was not so sure. She suddenly felt weak, useless for some reason.

Looking up and at her red-eyed, blue skinned reflection, Jade came to a conclusion and whispered it out loud, mostly for herself then just the sake of saying it.

"You're not me. You have my face, but you're not me"

She stared at the mirror, and for a moment hoped it would speak out and she could pretend it was a dream, or that this was all some sort of really bad joke. She would even settle for waking up suddenly and learning she had just knocked herself for a loop by getting into Uncle's spells, and that the whole mess with Shendu possessing Jackie and the Book of Ages was nothing more then a very twisted result of a potion gone bad.

But it didn't, and Jade was forced to believe in what was happening to her. There was no dream-like aspect to everything, no hint at anything other then a brutal truth, and Jade's thoughts ran wild.

"_What… what's going to happen now? What happened in the first place? This can't be what Shendu wanted, why would he rewrite history if that is what the stupid book does for this? Me being trapped in some tower in a fortress?"_

She turned away from the mirror, both so she would no longer have to stand face-to-face with her reflection and so she could give herself a moment to pull herself together. Even she had to admit it, that if she kept on like this she was really going to lose it. So taking a deep breath, Jade tried to clear her mind a little and collect herself.

_:::Somewhere Nearby:::_

In a shadowed room, lit by only token lamp-light from small lamps that decorated the edges of said room, three distinct figures sat and quietly drank whatever took their fancy around a large, low-slung circular table. This table, like the three that were seated around it, was very distinct in the fact that its wide surface was a very accurate depiction of Japan and was decorated by small painted wooden models. Each model was slightly different, and had different Japanese lettering inscribed artfully upon them.

One figure, seemingly clad in a dark suit of samurai armor, reached across the table and carefully picked up one such model from the coast near what could be seen as Shikoku Island. This model in particular was carved in the likeness of a stone tower, and had the lettering for "Tobe" inscribed upon its painted black surface in a dull red color. The figure idly twirled the wooden carving in-between its armored fingers, the metal gauntlets seeming to pose no hindrance as nimble fingers spun it back and forth between them.

The figure's eyes watched as the wooden tower spun back and forth, its attention never wavering, not even as the other hand brought up a saucer of some strong smelling drink for a sip. A flash of sharp teeth, fang-like in their quality, and a displeased frown worked its way onto its shadowed face. With as much care as was had with picking it up, the figure set it back down on its rightful position on the coast of the north-eastern edge of Shikoku and the opposing side of Awaji Island.

The figure was suddenly drawn from its silent brooding as a figure across the table spoke up, the large and bulky figure across from him handling a small teapot with a strangely delicate nature as it poured the hot liquid into a small cup and released a smell not much unlike ripe berries as it steamed.

"Mu, Ikazuki-_Dono_*, you should not dwell on such things. If _Joō Heika_ * wills it, then at the ceremony it shall be made so. But I would not allow your hopes to rise, for I hear that she favors a continued campaign on Kyushu."

The samurai, now revealed as being named Ikazuki, leaned forward onto the table and into the light, revealing blue-tinted lizard-like qualities and snorted.

"And what would you know Ozeki-Dono? You and your tribe find the current state quite pleasing, if I say so myself, and I would think you to pay little heed to what she would wish us to do when it comes to such things, what with you so busy with the slaves and holdings."

Ozeki, also now named, seemed unperturbed by Ikazuki's sharp words and calmly drank his tea, his large and strong fingers grasping the small teacup with all the gentleness of a butterfly before responding, his tone deep and calm.

"My tribe and I, Ikazuki-Dono, are simply the best-suited for our duty. Can you honestly say that you or any of our fellow Generals and their tribes do as mine does, and keep our growing empire supplied and the slaves working? Only my tribe has the patience to oversee the details needed to keep our armies moving, and our holdings supplied with fresh resources. And would you rather displease the queen, and work the slaves to their deaths? You know as well as I, Ikazuki-Dono, that while you know the art of war, you know little about the limits of humans and their ways. Under you, or any other General, they would revolt within as little time as three moons. But under me and my tribe, they are kept obedient and healthy, and work for the will of our queen who finds great displeasure in senseless death."

Ikazuki grimaced, but was forced to accept the facts. He was not a fool to blindly ignore what was truthful and plain to see. But while that was so, it did not mean he had to like it, not at all. But before he could retort, the third figure at the table intruded with a dry, hissing yet jubilant laugh.

"He, he, he, truly, I find your exchanges very interesting my dear Ozeki-Dono, Ikazuki-Dono. But I do fear, that Ozeki is correct this time and you have little chance in continued argument Ikazuki-dono. Indeed, I feel that it is perhaps time to best be silent."

Both Ozeki and Ikazuki eyed the figure that sat coiled in the farthest reach of the table from them, the Naga-like creature that was their comrade, but only Ikazuki bothered to speak.

"And tell me, Kuro-dono, what suddenly compels you to interrupt us for such a declaration? I see little reason for us to cease our discussion, even at the word of the _distinguished_ tactician and leader of the Ika* Tribe?"

Ozeki, for his sake, had already noticed what Kuro had been talking about, and remained silent – if Ikazuki desired to dig his own grave, then by all means. While gaining favor and the ear of their leader was a constant battle among them, there was one who _always_ had the queen's favor and ear, and his face as he watched from the doorway was not one that was pleased with Ikazuki's barbs and attempts to pick a fight. But Ozeki did not hold it against the samurai, for it was in his nature, but it did not mean it should not be curbed now and then. Kuro, his keen mind already set on its course, merely grinned a fanged grin to put Ikazuki's to shame and reminded silent as well.

Ikazuki, on the other hand, was not so keen. While a warrior, he was also a hothead and lost himself in his anger at the slightest notice, and the silence from both Ozeki and Kuro was doing little to help it. As the silence continued, Ikazuki became more angered, and stood from his chair to pull his blade with an infuriated shout only for his hand to be met with another as it reached the hilt of the katana. Turning around, he was met with the sight of glowing amber eyes and the displeased continence of his superior. Now, Ikazuki was many things. He was a samurai with honor, be it with or without him being a demon Oni, and he was a master of the blade, having long beyond mortal years to hone his skill. He was a warrior, and a true monster upon any battlefield. While he was not a genius like Kuro, he was smart as well and had knowledge in magic that he put to good use when his temper did not get the best of him.

But above all else, Ikazuki was sure he was _not_ one thing in particular. Ikazuki was no fool, and would never be any fool at someone's desires. Casting a pointed look from the corner of his eye at Kuro and Ozeki, he slowly released the hilt of his blade, and after the forceful hand removed itself from his wrist, he returned to his seat with nary a word. Even he, with his skill, could not and would not challenge the most senior among them, for even he had no desire to test the limits of his immortal life at the end of Hiruzen's blades. One did not hold the position of _Yojimbo_* and Adviser to the Queen for as long as he did by privilege alone, and Hiruzen was the eldest of all the Demon Generals. He had served as many as eight different queens in his life, and now Hiruzen served a ninth. Even Ikazuki and his love of battle did not think it wise to offend him.

Once Ikazuki was seated once more and quietly brooding, the now-present Hiruzen spoke, his tone formal but strict with an edge of power beneath it. He said no word or implied no distaste for Ikazuki's actions, he spoke as if it never happened at all. The three Generals easily understood the hidden meaning.

"I greet you all, Ikazuki of the _Buke_* tribe, Ozeki of the Sumo tribe, and Kuro-Ri-Chi of the Ika tribe. I welcome you three, all honored Generals of the Shadowkhan and loyal servants to our beloved queen to the imperial fortress after your long voyages here. I welcome you here not as your superior now, but as a fellow follower of our queen. As you know, I am Hiruzen of the Shinobi tribe and you are all here as tradition dictates for the presentation of reports from your respective fronts, and your rotation into the fortress. I hope your stay here is restful, and _peaceful_."

The three Generals winched slightly at the power behind the implied threat, but otherwise kept themselves collected. With formalities almost over, the three removed themselves from their respective seats to bow slightly and then reseated themselves. With this done, Ozeki was the first to speak.

"Mu, and it is a great pleasure Hiruzen-_senpai_* to be here and once more to be in the presence of our queen. I am ready to present my report at any time."

Kuro was the next to speak, and for more or less repeated what his Fellow General Ozeki had said. Ikazuki, on the other hand…

"As has been stated by my comrades, it is a great pleasure and honor to be here once more and in the presence of our queen, and I too am ready to present my report at any time. But I must ask, where is our queen?"

Hiruzen stared at Ikazuki for only the briefest of moments, as if considering the question, before answering in the same formal, strict tone.

"Our queen shall be with us shortly, she will be finished her breakfast and her morning preparations all but shortly, and I have already sent a escort for her to the tower. Are there any other questions??"

This time, it was Kuro who spoke up, his hissing and dry voice little more then a small rasp in the otherwise quite of the room.

"Why yes, I do have such a question Hiruzen-senpai. Tell me, how goes the preparations for the ceremony?"

Hiruzen simply nodded, and quickly responded to the query from the Squid-khan General.

"The preparations go well, and everything shall be ready by the time the moon enters the proper phase. The other Generals have already been notified, and shall in attendance as soon as their duties are finished. Kamisori of the _Reza_* Tribe has already sent notice that his duties are almost complete, and anything beyond that is being left in the hands of his lieutenants as he starts his journey here. He has expressed a great deal of interest in being early in his attendance."

Kuro nodded, and thanked Hiruzen. He, for one, understood what was mostly likely catching the Razor General's interest and shared it. After all, it was the first time since the passing of their last queen that all the Generals would be gathered in one place for any great length of time, and if he had heard the flitting rumors as he had, then the queen would be making a declaration of great importance at the ceremony, one that would make or break their current status. Kuro, for one, was hoping the first, to put his skill to the test once more. Throwing shadowed looks to his compatriots, his mind turned.

Ikazuki, as a warrior serving for four queens now, was proud. The current status stagnated him, and the Demon Samurai itched for grand battlefields. Ozkei, on the other hand, had served for six queens and was pleased with the current state of affairs like Ikazuki had implied and would most likely be reluctant to see them change. But as it stood, both were integral. Ikazuki and his tribe served as the backbone of the Shadowkhan armies, while Ozkei and his tribe served as the muscle, and with them there was more then enough to spare. But Ozkei was a peaceful sort, unless prompted to anger. He preferred the homeland, and overseeing the more menial tasks, the little things that kept the growing empire running. Ikazuki was his total reverse in a sense, quick to anger and anything but peaceful.

Kuro casted his eyes forwards, and towards Hiruzen. Even to him, Hiruzen was a mystery, one perhaps too dangerous to pursue. Hiruzen was the eldest among the Generals, around to know most if not all their predecessors long before a queen brought them forth. And for as long as anyone remembered or bothered to record, Hiruzen had always held the honored position of Yojimbo and Adviser to the Queen. No one held the courage to challenge the demon to battle for the title… no one that valued their lives, anyway. Immortal were they as demons, but not gods or born divine. A blade could still kill them, it just took more effort then a human could put forth but not beyond the effort of a fellow Oni.

As quick as Kuro had started his observations and pondering, did he end them. He was not the tactician and strategist for nothing, and t'was a fool's folly to draw attention to himself till the time was right. A sly thought passed though his mind.

"_A true general does not move to his enemy, he moves his enemy to him. I shall watch, and they shall tell. And when all is in place, I shall know what I must do. The art of war extends well beyond the borders of the battlefield. The Ika tribe shall gain great favor in the eyes of the queen, for it is my will, and at the ceremony it shall be I and my tribe that will be honored by the queen with the moon's blessings."_

A slightest ghost of a fanged grin across his face, and Kuro reached with his serpentine arm for a gourd of sake and a saucer. It would be best to be braced for the coming reports, and as Ozeki and Ikazuki conversed, and the silent Hiruzen watched, Kuro quietly drank.

_:::Back At The Tower:::_

Jade, for the most part, was exhausted both mentally and physically and was slumped loosely on a puffy cushion in a corner. Pulling herself back together again had proven to be more of a task than she thought it would have been, but she had done it, and was thinking rationally again and chuckled weakly at the fact.

"Look at me, breaking down like this. Uncle Jackie would be rolling in his grave if he were dead in the first place. I just need to keep cool and Uncle and Jackie will sort it out, and if they don't I will. After all, you can't keep the Chan Clan down for long. But just in case, I should start figuring out where I am, or at least _when_ from the looks of things. But where do I…"

It was at this time that Jade noticed something else wrong with the way she was speaking. Not only did her voice sound different, but she was also speaking a completely different language all together! Taking a deep breath, and actually paying attention this time, she slowly and careful spoke aloud again, this time paying heed to the words.

"My name is Jade Chan."

Unfortunately, her suspicions were confirmed when instead of English, perfect Japanese came out of her mouth, in the form of "_Mai na Hisui Chan_". What really surprised her was when she understood it. Normally, she would have to struggle a bit to get Japanese down and understand it while pronouncing, but now she was speaking and understanding it as if she was born to it. Sighing, she chalked it up as something weird to the growing list in true Jade style.

But before she could continue, the smell of the warm food still on the table reached her nose and her stomach growled with longing. Licking her lips and remembering the sweet taste of the toast and jam she decided to at least finish eating before she did anything else. Sitting down and ignoring the mirror, she decided to try a few of the other things set out and picked up a pair of chopsticks.

"After all, its not a good idea saving myself on a empty stomach. Like Jackie says, you need a hearty breakfast to get through the day."

So with this on her mind, and letting a hungry eye roll across the breakfast spread, before she settled on a covered bowl that emitted steam through small holes in the lid. Careful not to drag the sleeve of the gown she was wearing through the food, she reached over and plucked it up and over to her, and with an afterthought also grabbed a small wooden tray loaded with what looked like grilled fish and a smaller bowl with some rice. Once everything was set before her properly, she took a deep breath of the hearty smelling steam and took of the lid of the bowl, and was confronted with what looked like soup of some sort, mixed with veggies and other ingredients in a deep brown base. Racking her mind, she finally managed to place the name of the dish.

"Ahh! I know this one, Mom and Dad made it once when my cousin came over from Japan! It's a breakfast Miso, and if it's anything like the last it's pretty good."

Now knowing the dish, she set down her chopsticks and brought the bowl to her lips and took a sip, mindful of the hot bowl. After the first sip, she swilled it around a bit, before a smile came to her face and she took another, deeper drink. After a moment, she set the bowl down with a happy sigh and picked up the chopsticks again, nabbing the veggies floating in what was left of the base before she set the bowl to the side and started on another dish with a gleam to her eye at the sudden prospect of all this delicious food.

Moments later, and a honestly surprised Jade had decimated a large part of spread and wondering how she did it while picking at a bowl of dried fruit.

"Whoa, I don't think I have ever been that hungry before. When was the last time I ate? How long was I asleep for? Must of been a long time, or else I would have never been able to eat like that." A small burp and a contented sigh later, and Jade was finished. She politely tided up the various plates and dishes a bit, a sort of thank you to whoever made it if she never got the chance to say it, and pushed herself away and up from the table and stretched herself a little to get the small kinks from her arms and legs from sitting at the low table.

Now with a content stomach and a clear mind, Jade thought about what to do next. From what she could tell, she was probably in Japan if the design of the fortress, the fact that she now spoke perfect Japanese, and the food were any hint. But with her luck, that might not even be close. She might not even be on Earth for all she knew, and what she did know was that there were Shadowkhan here and she was apparently one of them. But she still felt like herself, unlike the last time she was in this position, so she guessed that was a plus.

With these few facts in her head, she looked around for any more clues. To one side there was the door to the balcony, and there was another door on the wall next to it. The table and mirror took up the wall next to her, and now that she looked there was also a small cabinet of sorts set next to it. Other then that the monster of a bed and a few tasteful decorations took up the bedroom, mostly works of art depicting peaceful scenes or animals and greenery. There was also what looked to be some sort of changing area, separated from the rest of the room by a black-painted paper screen. To Jade, it was actually somewhat Spartan. So, with little other choice and not wanting to risk the unknown door, she settled for the cabinet and with some trepidation opened the doors on it slowly only to blanch when she saw what was inside.

"Whoa, should I even be _breathing _next to these? They have to cost a fortune!"

The cabinet was full to the brim with precious jewelry and such, ranging from headdresses and hairpins to rings, necklaces, and wristbands. Jade though she could even spy an ankle bracelet in one corner. Spying a drawer, she opened it up as well, only to find a few sets of ornate combs lying on silken cushions. One in particular drew her attention, and she gently picked it up and examined it. It was carved from something light and hard, yet different from wood, smoother for some reason yet didn't feel like bone. It was painted a tasteful green with a scene of grasslands, with a single green gem, most likely emerald, set on each side and both roughly the size of a quarter. Without reason, at least one that she could find, Jade was overcome by the sudden desire to use it and comb her new hair into something manageable other than the slightly tangled mess it was now.

For good or bad, she gave into the desire and taking a seat in-front of the mirror again she started to comb her hair, finding the action actually relaxing, and helping her think. Not that she got much of a chance, for at that moment there was a gentle knock at the mystery door, almost sending Jade into a panic. Remembering it was best to keep her cool, and that if whomever at the door was hostile they probably would not be knocking, Jade called out. Or, at least, she was going to till she also realized she did not know how too. For all she knew, there was a certain way she was supposed too. Jade's inner trickster set to work, and evaluated the best way to pull it off. Considering how she had been treated so far, the way the Shadowkhan came to protect her, and the general extravagance she apparently lived in, she figured that she was at least someone important. So, common sense and logic dictated that she act the part. So, how did important people act?

Jade quickly thought on it, and came to two conclusions. If they didn't act like total jerks or snobs, important people just acted like they were busy and didn't have much time to spare and kept their words short and to the point. So, that is exactly what she would do. A quite breath to fortify herself, and then "Enter," was all she said. Right afterwords, two of the garden-variety Shadowkhan walked in, one carrying something that looked suspiciously like a very ornate and high-quality kimono and bowed deeply, presenting the article of clothing.

Not wanting to seem hesitant, Jade took the kimono quickly, getting the idea. After she gave them a nod and a quiet "thank you" the two vanished, leaving Jade alone again. Looking down at the soft piece of fabric in her hands, Jade realized another problem.

"I have no idea how to put this on, but I have to before those two get back. So what do I do?"

She stared at the kimono, a small hope in the back of her mind devoted to the idea that it might suddenly burst into flame and save her the trouble but the rest of her knowing better. With a low moan and a face-palm, she turned around and walked behind the paper separator.

Since she was alone it may have been unnecessary, but they weren't called ingrained habits for nothing. Her hair offered some difficulty in pulling the gown off over her head – honestly, who needed, much less wanted this much hair? Still, in short order the nightgown was crumpled on the floor next to the neatly folded kimono. For a moment Jade had thought that getting out of the alien garment would be a relief, but was now divested of that idea.

She had felt the lack of muscle tone through the silk, but seeing was a different kind of believing. Her entire body was that same shade of blue, right down to her toes with black nails to match the ones on her fingers. She idly wondered if the black was how they were supposed to be colored or painted like some Goth's. Running a hand down her stomach she found it smooth tight, devoid of any muscle tone or fat. It was also unblemished, lacking even the small birthmark to the left of her navel. The surroundings and clothing were bad, but knowing her flesh – no, this was not her body, she repeated her mantra from earlier, suppressing the rise of her panic before it began again.

Recalling the clock was ticking, Jade turned her attention back to the kimono resting on the floor.

"_Well at least it will occupy me for a while from having another breakdown_," she thought sardonically.

A few moments later, and Jade was once more adding to the list that had started to compile about the weird things she had encountered so far, as she found herself strangely capable when it came to putting on the complex dress and its different layers and parts. She had never even touched one before, but now she knew how to put it on as if she did it every day. She actually found the motions more through instinct then actual thought, almost like her body remembered how to do it but not her head. She had run through the entire process of dressing on auto-pilot, a trance of sorts, and had not even noticed till afterwords that she had apparently not stopped at just the kimono, somehow at some point adding in a small silver headdress and a few other trinkets.

She idly tugged at the kimono, and bothered the small headdress, confused at how comfortable they felt yet how alien at the same time and was tempted to take them both off. Another item in the strange category was that in her experience fancy clothes where always the most uncomfortable. This was far swankier than anything she had ever worn before, but felt quite comfortable. She was even more confused by the fact that sometime during her little trance in getting dressed she had found the time to apparently pull and pin her hair so that it rested only in the small of her back and not at the seat of her rear with the rest folded and held in place behind her head by thin hair pins made of something like obsidian and set with gold. She was actually afraid to pull out the pins, considering how much hair they held up at the moment, and resolved that when this was all figured out and she was rescued, she was going to seriously beat-down on Shendu one way or another for messing with her head and downloading all this stuff into it, and everything else to. She had even apparently put on a set of bracelets; delicate pieces of worked silver or some other metal, and somehow colored a shiny black and set with pearls.

Jade was by no means a girly-girl or one that took pleasure in even small extravagance, so the fact that she would sub-consciously do something like this was actually somewhat frightening, but mostly confusing and left Jade feeling conflicted as everything started to build up again. Her new appearance and situation she had managed to come to terms with, since when she was rescued that would all be fixed. But now Jade was worried if they could fix something that was wrong with her brain. All this stuff, everything that was apparently shoved in her brain, it honestly scared her. What else could have been put in there? What if something was not just put in, but changed? Even by magical means, just suddenly knowing this stuff wasn't right.

But before she could dwell on it anymore, another series of gentle knocks sounded at her door and forced her to put it to the back of her mind for the time. As she walked from behind the paper separator and prepared to allow what was most likely the two from before in, she caught herself in the mirror's reflection and stifled a small gasp.

Before, when she had last looked, she had at least looked the part of herself with the exception of clearly being Shadowkhan and with longer hair if you ignored the other small details physically, but now…  but now, she looked completely different, she could not even see herself to tell the truth. To Jade, it was more like looking at a picture of a blue Japanese princess then anything else. The dark, flowing kimono with a strange water print with a moon, the small silver headdress reminiscent of a crown, the bluish-black hair and the way it seemed to stream out behind her yet was so tastefully held in place with obsidian hair pins. Even looking directly at her reflection, she could not see her true self, Jade Chan.

At that moment, something almost snapped in Jade, as she fought to maintain the self-control she had regained. She turned away from the mirror, resisting the sudden urge to shatter it for some reason. After a moment, she was back under control, and invited whoever was outside by simply saying, "Enter," as she had before. Except this time, to her internal surprise, it was not the two Shadowkhan she had seen earlier but two completely different ones.

Where the ones that had brought her the kimono were the type of Khan she had become all too familiar with since coming to San Francisco, these two she did not immediately realize were Shadowkhan. There was nothing ninja about these two, only the red eyes and black color scheme announced them to be Shadowkhan. Rather than the ninja robes she was used to they were encased in black armor, their heads and faces covered better than the normal Khan by stylized helmets. Noticing the swords that hung sheathed at their belts it clicked in Jade's head.

"_Samurai, duh! What's the one thing as Japanese as a ninja? The Japanese version of knights in shining armor; or in this case eerily dark spooky armor, the samurai._" Jade lectured herself internally.

Without a word, the two stood to each side of the door and bowed deeply as the other two had, apparently waiting. To Jade, the gesture was as blunt as could be. The two wanted her to go with them. Jade was hesitant to do so, but there was little choice. As far as she knew, if she did not go peacefully and willingly, they would take her by force, and she had little doubt that they could get away with it to. So, she simply nodded, and without a single word the two lead the way.

Jade's slippered feet moved in barely a whisper as the two Samurai-Khan led the way out of the bedroom, their heavy boots chinking on the wooden floor and into a smaller circular room. To one side, Jade could clearly see what looked like a stairwell to lower floors, and she remembered that she was at the very top of a rather large and impressive tower. But it seemed that the stairway was not their route, for instead the two Samurai lead her to a strange object in the middle of the room, looking by all means like a gazebo of sorts between a set of four pillar's. At the top of it, Jade could clearly see a thick heavy chain connected to it that hung from a hole in the ceiling. As she was lead on and into the gazebo-like thing, she noticed that it was on rails of sorts that were attached to the inside of each pillar.

As Jade tried to figure out what it was and why they were on it, the floor suddenly shifted, and the chain rattled and clank as the small gazebo they were in started to lower itself through a previously hidden hole in the floor. After taking a moment for it to register, she felt like slapping herself silly for not realizing what it was sooner and resisted the urge to groan out loud.

"_Well duh Jade, it's just a elevator! How dense do you have to be? It might be a pretty old kind, more like one of those dumb-waiter things, but it's still an elevator."_

Jade watched the floors pass by as the elevator slowly picked up speed, till it was going at a fairly decent rate downwards and to what she assumed was the ground floor. As it did, she paid careful attention to whatever details she could catch. The very first floor she saw, the one right below the room where she had woken up, had a heavy armored door with the kanji 護 painted on its steel front in red paint. Jade was actually surprised when she discovered she not only spoke and understood the Japanese language perfectly, but could now read it as well. When before she would have no idea, she was now clearly able to read it as the word "Guard" printed boldly. As the floor with the armored door passed up and away from sight, another came into view, this one as well with a door labeled with a kanji, and all the floors and doors after it, each with their own circular room like the one outside the bedroom as well as a set of stairs leading down from the previous floor.

By the time the elevator reached what she guessed to be the ground floor, Jade had counted somewhere around 6 or so floors, each with their labeled doors, except for the very last one which had no label at all. Instead, it had a massive lock built into it, and was almost as heavily armored as the first door she had seen. She had also noticed the two Samurai escorting her tense up for a moment as they passed they door, as if in preparations for something that might happen. As the elevator came to a creaking rattling halt, Jade went over to the doors she had seen and their separate kanji in her mind.

The second door had the kanji for "Contemplation", 瞑, painted on in gentle flowing strokes unlike the bold slashes that made up the one on the first door. The door itself was also different, made out of thick heavy wood and set on rails so it could be rolled to one side. The third floor had the kanji for the word "Create", 創, printed on its door and was made like the traditional sliding paper doors that she knew. The fourth floor was actually more then just that, since she did not see any other floors for almost a whole levels worth, so she guessed that the fourth floor with its kanji for "Understanding", 悟, took up a total of two floors and not just one. Finally, there was the locked and unlabeled door.

Jade's train of thought was derailed before she could finish though, as her escorts stepped off the elevator and into the same circular room as before on all the other floors, and opened a large set of unmarked double doors and stepped to each side to presumably allow her to pass first. Following her instincts, she gave both of them a small nod of her head and passed through, finding herself in a large open hall. To either side of her, there was a set of stairs heading up and joining together to make a landing right above her head. She presumed the door connected to the stairs leading up, since she had not seen a staircase in the elevator room. Jade waited for a moment as the two samurai stepped from their positions in the elevator and to just beside and slightly in front of her. The two resumed their pace, and Jade once again followed.

They lead her across the hall, and to the set of even larger double doors set at the opposite end. With a gulp, Jade watched as they pushed open the doors and sunlight streamed inside.

_::A Short Time Later::_

Jade let out a quiet and relived sigh as she sat in a small and comfortable room inside the keep. She had been honestly surprised she had not passed out from the tension or fear as she walked down that path from the tower. The courtyard and garden that made up the tower grounds had been nice, very pretty even, all the different flowers and trees arranged in eye-pleasing patterns. There had even been a nice-looking spot to relax, in the form of a large bench under a shady Sakura tree. She had even seen a few fruit trees scattered throughout the garden, that she wanted to sneak a few fruit from if she ever got the chance.

But the path to the keep, that had been a different matter all together. A single paved path of stone, surrounded on both sides by high walls. On the way down, she could see arrow slits every few feet in the wall, ready for someone to rain death and pain on anyone below. Then there were the guard posts. Towers of stone and wood were spread out along the wall, and at the top of each was a sentry like she had seen earlier. But now, she could see them up close, and could tell that they were the same samurai Shadowkhan as the ones escorting her with the exception that instead of swords, they each carried some sort of longbow instead.

Normally, the experience would not be so chilling for her, but with all the stress and up's and down's she has been on ever since she woke up Jade had to admit she was a mess. The adventures with her Uncles were a constant thrill ride, and that is part of why she loved living with them. Before her life was just plain and simple, and no way for her to really _"__Express herself"_as one of the counselors back at her old school in Hong Kong said. She had just settled for the idea that her life was completely boring.

But that said she was used to just a constant adrenaline rush and the thrill that came with her newer lifestyle. All this emotional stress was just something over her head. All this crying and breakdowns made her feel like some little girl who lost her safety blanket.

"_Well, no more of that. So what if I'm in some freaky place by myself? I've gotten outta worse, or Jackie's gotten me out. I'll just save myself this time, and then find Jackie and Uncle."_

With typical Jade-mindset restored and fully functional again, she decided that she would resume her quest for clues to her situation and look around. But after a moment, she realized that there was not really much to look around at in her current settings.

"_You know, now that I think about it, this reminds me of a waiting room. That is, if someone made a waiting room for an emperor. Sure it looks nice, but still pretty barren and Spartan. Kind of like the bedroom, except it had some kind of decoration."_

And to be almost painfully blunt, she was right. The room was glaringly bare of almost any form of decoration. A soft Tatami-mat floor played host to a small collection of cushions surrounding another low-slung table. The walls were bare, and were wood with paper screens placed in front except for one rather large paper screen opposite the way she came in. That one was very thick, and she could barely make out flickering lamplight from the other side. Jade could almost swear she heard soft conversation coming from the other side as well, but it just might have been a breeze on the paper screen and ignored it for the moment and continued to look around.

Finally, she noticed something that actually stood out from the rest of the room, if barely. It was a small cabinet, made of black wood, or at least painted as such, with gold trimmings and tucked away in a corner. To Jade, it looked somewhat haunting in a sense. In the back of her mind, she could feel a niggling feeling of sorts, a growing curiosity to open it up and see what was inside. And of course, Jade being Jade, she did not even bother resisting it. With a wary look at the door she had entered through and the paper-screen opposing it, she stood up and approached it with a mix of apprehension and intrigue with the back burner thought of how the hell she had been walking in this kimono and not fallen on her face.

With a final look at both entrances to the room to make sure she was alone and no one was watching her, she opened up the cabinet and stared in wonder at what was inside.

It looked like some sort long and fuzzy red scarf laid on some sort of small pedestal. Kinda like the boas warn by those fancy movie stars now and then. What was really drawing her attention were the little balls of multi-hued suspended fire that were in the cabinet with it. The little spheres of rainbow flames floated about like bubbles, and glowed with a cheery light. But for some strange reason, Jade had the feeling that they were not so cheery lingering in her mind. Above all else, was Jade's curiosity as to why the cabinet or the scarf weren't burning. She watched as a few fireballs brushed by the scarf and rubbed up on the cabinet's walls, and yet nothing happened. At first Jade would guess that even through it was wood, it was somehow treated against fire but the scarf was a different matter. It was clearly made of some sort of fur or fuzzy fabric. With a tentative hand, she reached out for a passing blue fireball and almost gasped when she touched it.

"It's… it's cold. And kinda ticklish."

And indeed, the little blue fireball was just that. At first she was shocked, expecting it have been warm and perhaps burn her finger when it drew close, but instead it was cold like a ice-cube. Slowly, she cupped it in both hands and drew the glowing ball of cold fire out, and let out a small smile and childish giggle as it tickled her palms and fingertips. After admiring it for a moment, she placed it back with its brother fireballs with her question answered and turned her attention to the scarf instead. With a gentle hand, she picked it up from its resting place only to recoil in shock and almost drop it. Instead, she quickly set it back down and held her hands close to her chest while shooting the scarf a distrusting look and grumbling to herself.

"Ow! Stupid scarf! What was that for?! Giving me a static shock."

Once the numbness wore off, Jade examined her hands to make sure the thing had not actually poked her or something. After she was sure she was not bleeding or been pricked by something, she turned her attentions back to the scarf. This time, she just settled to idly poking it. After she was sure it was not going to shock her again, she carefully picked it up and was actually able to admire it. With one hand holding it, she ran the other over its length.

"Whoa, it's so soft, and really fuzzy. Why would anyone put a nice scarf like this inside such a dank little cabinet with all those little fireballs? Is it magical or something? It really doesn't look magical, or really feel like it and it hasn't done anything except shock me. I wonder what its made of, it feel's like some sort of fur. And what's this thing over here? A white tip? Where have I seen something like this before? I could swear I've seen something like this before at school, but what?"

And while Jade pondered and tried to dredge up the memory, she continued examine the strange scarf until she found something else strange. At the other end of the scarf, there was little knob made of some sort of hard white stuff. She idly rubbed her thumb over it, feeling the porous surface of it and totally confused. Confused, until she noticed how strangely rigid the scarf was, like there was something inside the scarf. That's when one memory of school came to the front, one concerning a guest speaker from a wildlife preserve and how she even brought one of the animals from the preserve with her to show to the students. It had been a cute little fox, with a beautiful red coat and a lusciously long tail with a white tip at the end.

"This isn't a scarf… it's some animal's **TAIL!**"

* * *

**References**

_Joō Heika: A very formal way to refer to an emperor or empress, or other forms of rulers in Japan._

_Dono: A formal way to address someone of equal status or rank without being overly formal._

_Ika: A Japanese word for Squid_

_Yojimbo: Japanese word for someone who is a bodyguard_

_Buke: Another word for samurai_

_Senpai: A formal way to address those superior to you in rank without being overly formal._

_Reza: Japanese word for razor_

**A/N: Wow. Two months since pretty much anything else, just for this one bunny that won't leave me alone. I swear creativity is a curse sometimes. But to those wondering, yes, with this first chapter out of the way, I can get back to focusing on my Danny Phantom works and TF:A pieces for awhile till this bunny gets into the power tools again. MBSTS is next on my update list, and after that I am eying ****Two For the Show ****for an update and finish that off. My other Transformer fics are back burner till those two get updates. I hope you enjoyed this, and look forward to more. Slow as a slug I may be, but I will deliver. Wild ninjas couldn't drag me away, I promise. R/R! Now, go out there and do something revolutionary :D**

**Nocturne No Kitsune,**

**Signing Off.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Queen Of Shadows**_

_**A Jackie Chan Adventures FanFiction**_

_**Written by Nocturne No Kitsune**_

_**Concept Aided by Eduard Kessel**_

**_Beta'ed by ZimsMostLoyalServant_**

_**Thank you guys, you were of big help.**_

_Summery: Last chapter, we witnessed as Jade suffered a trans-location and a transformation as Shendu's tampering with the Book of Ages went horribly wrong. We watched as Jade was suddenly overcome with her changes, both physically and situational, and fought to maintain a handle on herself. Now, Jade is trapped in a so far mysterious world, and surrounded by enemies. What will become of her now? Only time and experience will tell._

_Warnings: Blood, light-to-mild violence, and possible light gore and cursing. If you're not one to like mental and moral issues, then this might not be for you._

_Rated: T_

_Chapter two: The Status Quo_

* * *

_"This isn't a scarf… it's some animal's TAIL!"_

At least, that is what she wanted to say, if not shout, out loud. Thankfully, Jade's adventuring instincts kicked in and she quickly slapped a hand over her mouth before aforementioned shout could escape. Unfortunately though, the act still produced a short lived if somewhat echoing clapping sound and she froze in horror as the half-whispers of conversation she might or might not have heard earlier came to a sudden stop.

With a frenzied yet silent urgency born from her years of child trickery, she quickly set the tail (of the poor animal to lose it) back in its cabinet and sat herself at the table with nary a ruffle to her kimono and waited for anything to happen with a well-feigned air of innocence and calm. Thankfully, she did not have to wait long as the screen door began to slide open...

:::_Moments ago, somewhere nearby_:::

Quiet conversation flowed around the table as the Generals conversed and argued with each other. Ikazuki and Ozeki subtly prodded at each other, carefully watched by Hiruzen while the demon shinobi politely discussed the recent activities along the coast with Kuro. All this was done with the absolute of civility, for the punishment for disrespect and unbecoming action in the Imperial Fortress of _Nagai Kage Kyassuru*_ was harsh and swift, even unto the Generals themselves. Ikazuki had almost suffered it with his action before, his hot temper about to land him in hotter water if not for Hiruzen.

Hiruzen almost dignified it with a snort as the thought passed his mind.

Thankfully, at least for Ikazuki, this easily upset the Queen, especially since it was the Queen's duty to oversee the disciplinary action. Her Majesty was still young, and her steel was still soft and easily malleable. As it was Hiruzen's duty to see to the well being of their Queen, both physically and mentally, he would not allow that young fool Ikazuki to place her in such a position of discomfort. At least, not yet...

But that did not mean he could not pursue a more private arrangement for Ikazuki to be taught a proper lesson in holding one's temper in check at a later time, and away from the others. Perhaps some additional lessons in holding one's tongue would do the Samurai General well. After all, it was unbecoming if Ikazuki shared the events of their little time together with the others.

But before Hiruzen could continue his darkening train of thought, even as he continued an apparently innocent discussion with Kuro, a well-known sound reached his ears and caused him to stiffen. T'was the sound of gentle clapping, coming from behind the _shoji _screen doors that traditionally obscured her Imperial Majesty and her throne from view. All the other Generals stiffened as well, for the sound was a signal that the Queen was ready to be escorted out of her waiting room and grace them with her presence.

A sudden silence encompassed the table, and shadowed looks were shared all around before eyes settled on Hiruzen. As the Queen's personal bodyguard and adviser, it was his express privilege to escort their Queen to her throne. Not a word was spoken as the demonic shinobi stood from his seat at the head of the table, and vanished behind the sliding _shoji _with a bare whisper.

Behind the door was the Queen's throne, which stood softly illuminated by candlelight. Hiruzen spared it only a passing glance, instead continuing past it and to the separate set of_shoji_ that isolated the Queen's waiting room from the throne room. As was proper, he knelt on both knees before opening the door and bowed deeply, his forehead touching the Tatami mats and staying that way, even as he spoke.

"Your Imperial Highness, your loyal resident Generals are seated and await you for the morning reports on your empire."

If he had been sitting upright and able to see, he would have been greeted by the sight of his "Imperial Highness" being in an almost complete state of shock, complete with bugged out eyes and slack jaw.

Fortunately enough for Jade, he didn't, or else everything might have come crumbling down then and there.

:::_Back with Jade_:::

Now, Jade expected a lot of things to happen when that door opened. She had learned early on that trying to predict what would happen in her strange life was pretty much a impossible task, an unclimbable mountain. Things happened, and there was no way to tell what was going to happen or how it was going to happen or even when. So, she normally just went with the flow. She would even say it was a secret of survival in her line of work if you could call it that.

But this? This was even a bit over the top for her.

It was a standard Shadowkhan, which is how she had decided to think of them. But while his head was still covered, his clothing was more liken to a classic Japanese Hakama, though it was in the black and blue theme of the Khan. He had been on his knees when he opened the door and now he kowtowed to her before speaking.

"Your Imperial Highness, your loyal resident Generals are seated and await you for the morning reports on your empire." he said in a dark billowing voice.

So now she had Generals and an empire of all things; it was like taking a baseball bat to the back of her head. Why did it all have to just keep coming, how long had she even been awake at this point? Thankfully, there was no fainting involved, but Jade would admit to herself later on that the shellshock look she probably had would have been almost as bad as if she did.

But once again, Jade being Jade, salvaged it with an expert touch and fell into things easily enough. A stray thought came to her, and she wondered if in her past lives she was a strange mix of ninja, con artist, and actor or something along those lines. After all, where else would she be getting these skills? Either way, she wiped the stupefied look from her face and fell into her "Important Person" mode. She was still working on it, but Jade was a fair hand at bluffing either way. Watching all those movies helped a bit too.

So, she sat up a bit straighter, looked a bit more serious, and did her best at putting on a poker face that would make veteran card sharks proud. Thankful for a well place scroll on – herbalism? – That she pretended to be reading, she made a show of ignoring the strange Shadowkhan for a moment before looking up and over at him and in her best holier than thou tone addressed him.

"Thank you, you may rise now. Is there anything else you wish to inform me of?"

Inside, Jade was cringing and swearing she would slap herself silly later when she was alone. The tone and everything was authentic, and Jade herself was pretty sure that if she did not know better and heard herself just now, she would swear she was listening to a real high-brow and not pretending to be one. She absolutely hated people who thought they were better then everyone else just by simply existing, and now here she was pretending to be one.

Either way, she shoved it aside and replaced it with her typical Jadeness as the Shadowkhan in question ceased his bowing and instead took to standing ramrod straight. Even Jade had to admit, he looked a lot more intimidating than any other Shadowkhan she had seen. Something about how he wore formal clothing yet came off as completely ready to go ninja and kill someone.

Jade suppressed a shiver at the thought. Thinking something like that was not exactly a good idea in her situation. However, her attention turned back to the Shadowkhan as he lightly shook his head.

"No my lady, there is nothing else at the moment. Now then, you have finished your preparations? If so, the Generals await and I will escort you to your throne."

Jade nodded as her apparent escort turned to the side, opening the way for her to move past. She could also see the room beyond. It was not exactly barren, but from what she could see it was even more Spartan then the waiting room she was sitting in. Just an empty room with a rather grandiose throne, rows of lit candles, and a massive white pearl suspended over the aforementioned throne. Really, pretty barren in Jade's opinion.

Out of all of it, Jade was at least somewhat impressed with the pearl. The thing was huge, and must have been worth a fortune. Suspended from the roof by a set of silver chains, one to each corner, and set in a ring of black steel. It actually kinda reminded her of the moon, round and perfect in the night. She had to admit, it did look very pretty. She paid the most attention to it of all things as she calmly stood up and walked past the Shadowkhan, trying to barely pay attention to him as he fell into an easy step behind her. At the bare whisper of the sound of his feet, an idle thought struck her.

_"Actually, not easy probably. He has way longer legs. I could probably never keep up with him if he started running, and I could probably never get away if it was me running…"_

Jade once again suppressed a shiver, and could not help but wonder why she kept thinking like this. She was Jade Chan, fearless child adventurer! As she walked past the side of the throne and being careful to avoid catching her kimono on the candle stands, a small voice answered her in her head.

_"Because, this time, you don't have Jackie to come save if you really mess up. Last time you checked, Jackie was still Shen-jacked, and do you really think that lizard is going to let him go just so he can come haul you out of the fire?"_

She would have shaken her head and exclaimed herself loudly, banishing the un-Jadely thoughts from her mind, if not for the fact that she was being watched. So for the moment, she settled for setting her jaw in a grimace and tightening her hands into fists until she felt the sharp black nails digging into her palm. She had to stop when she almost felt like she was breaking skin, but it was enough. Turning around, she faced the throne in all its dark glory.

Now, from the back, the thing did not look too impressive. From the front, not so much, and it was fairly a given to say the throne all but screamed royalty. It was easy to tell just by looking at it that whoever got to sit in that massive thing was bound to be important, and when thought massive, it was. Apparently whoever designed the place had a thing with "Bigger is Better", since it was easily a great many times Jade's size. Even to an adult, it was probably pretty big. Like many things around her, it was carved from black stone, and with the way it seemed to shine, it was probably obsidian.

It was rather simple in its over all design, just a basic chair carved from a single piece, but as they say, it's the little things that matter. As the chair went up, so did the design. Blank stone gave way to intricate carvings and lettering. Careful attention, and you could see scenes etched into the dark stone after that, that ultimately gave way to a pair of snakes that wove around twin spires high above the throne sprouting from the back like trees. At the very top, the snakes came together and seemed to bite into a circle of steel, marked with a symbol of a fruit tree.

Over all, Jade was actually somewhat fearful that out of all the people she might expect to sit in that chair, it had to apparently be her. A small sigh, and she started up the steps covered with dark crimson carpet and ascended onto the throne. Taking the seat, she was actually surprised at how comfy it was. She attributed that to the silken pillows that it.

The only problems she found though were the facts that one, she could not reach the armrests properly, and two, if she tried to sit normally the edge of the seat would dig painfully into the back of her legs. So she settled for tucking her legs underneath her in a half-kneeling position. Staring ahead for a moment at the paper screen doors (she tried to remember what they were called) before she looked over at her escort and noticed his waiting expression. To Jade, he was apparently waiting for her to give him some sort of command.

Hoping for the best, she gave him a simple nod. And to her luck, it worked. He nodded in return, before banging a small gong. In his deep and billowy voice, he announced, "Her Imperial Majesty has arrived! Honor to the Queen of Shadows! Honor to the Empire of Shadows, and all its domains."

With that, he strode forward and eased open the paper screen doors, giving Jade the ability to see once again the room beyond.

And what a room it was.

Large, expansive, yet dark and shadowy with only bare lamplight set about in intermittent spacing. The walls and edges were deep in darkness, only the lightest hinting of various wall hangings and scrolls set in the alcoves. Directly in front her and down a small series of steps was a massive round table, looking for all means like one of the ones she saw in some old military movie. The top of the table was a single massive map, and if she did not know better, she would say it was of Japan. But before she could get too involved with examining the table, she forced herself to those seated at it. For once, she was actually glad she was used to living a life that made monster mash movies look normal, otherwise she might be slightly disturbed by the trio bowing to her in their seats.

Easily the most human was also the biggest, easily cutting equal with Tohru in sheer height and possible girth. She eyed the teapot and cup and wondered how in the world the huge Shadowkhan held them without breaking them. Shifting her sight to the second most humanoid, she was greeted by the sight of a much more heavily and elaborately armored Samurai Shadowkhan, with the exception that this one had blue-tinted lizard like qualities to his appearance. Finally, Jade set her eyes on the last one sitting at the table, if it could really be called sitting. To Jade, you sorta needed legs to sit, but it apparently did not deter the squid-like Shadowkhan. Bowing? That was another interesting concept considering that the Shadowkhan had... were those tentacles?

Jade just decided to stop thinking about it. She had ceremony to apparently deal. Much more pondering on the physiology of Shadowkhan and her head might explode. That, and while it tickled something inside her to see someone bowing to her, it was not in a good way. She just wanted to get this over with. So, she tried nodding again at the announcing Shadowkhan, hoping it was enough of a signal to get things moving. At this point, she didn't trust her tongue not to betray her.

Thankfully, her luck paid off again. The elegantly dressed Shadowkhan (were his eyes orange?) nodded at her in return, before facing the three figures seated at the table from his position beside the (her?) throne. Now that she was actually seated and not thinking constantly, just trying to remain focused, all sorts of random thoughts were bombarding her. She did her best to remain concentrated, and hoped to high heaven that she somehow did not screw this up. So focused was she on, well, remaining focused, that she actually missed whatever the Shadowkhan had been about to say, and now the three Generals were resumed sitting.

As it was, she even almost missed the question posed to her the next moment, and barely caught herself. Thankfully, something about that Shadowkhan's voice managed to penetrate through the fog of her mind.

"So your Highness, who do you wish to give their report first? I believe that Ikazuki has news from the front at Kyushu, while Generals Kuro and Ozeki have news from their respective posts in and outside the borders of the empire."

Jade, for her sake, had discovered the simple power of a nod and a straight face and decided to stick to it like a religion. Fewer words she had to speak, the better. Unfortunately, it seemed fate was not going to let her get away with just that. So, at random, she quickly picked one of the offered options. With a straight face and a straighter voice, she made her choice. Not that she knew who any of them where, just their names and not who went to them, but still.

"Ikazuki, you may proceed."

She would later wonder if those words might or might not have been a mistake.

:::_The Generals_:::

"Ikazuki, you may proceed."

If someone were to step in at that very moment, they could have heard a pin drop in the split second after that was said. As it was, a very small and silent ripple of shock went through the Generals, especially Ikazuki. With the Queen, even the slightest bit of attention meant something, and with the constant power play in effect by the different Generals for her favor it meant even more so. Being selected to give one's report first meant that your information and what you had to offer was considered more important then what the others had, and for Ikazuki that normally meant being selected to report last.

The Queen's distaste for violence had always been clear, if not the reasoning, which remained a mystery. So for him, whose sole reason for existence was to make war on as great and grand a scale as possible, saw much in the way of a silent distaste by their young ruler.

So, ignoring the looks from the other two Generals and the strange one from Hiruzen, he seized the chance for what it was. He would deal with the fallout later, as he did not doubt there would be.

Setting his drink to the side, the armored demon bowed deeply, and started his report.

"Thank you, your Highness. I, Ikazuki of the _Buki_ tribe, shall present my report on your empire's armies and their efforts."

As Ikazuki started, Jade's mind went elsewhere. She had been thinking once she saw the table that she was in somewhere that was fairly like Japan. She was pretty sure of it, with everything else up to now. Oh, she might of looked like she was paying rapt attention to Ikazuki (apparently that was the blue-tinted lizard samurai's name) but in truth she was only half-listening to him while she tried to process everything. She roved her eyes over the map, drinking in the details, all in an effort to try to piece together more facts. Overall, the picture she got was not entirely pleasant, at least not for humanity.

Shikoku was completely covered by carved tokens depicting castles or soldiers, all of them looking scarily like Shadowkhan. Even the sea around Shikoku was covered with tokens, carved to look like miniature ships, each one sleek and fierce. Kyushu was only slightly better off, with the eastern coast festering with more Shadowkhan tokens while more lightly colored tokens stood opposing them. Japan as a whole was covered with a rainbow of different colored tokens, with the odd Shadowkhan one mixed in.

It actually reminded her of a Risk board and she suppressed the urge to chuckle at that stray absurd thought. As it was a shadow of a smile played across her face before the weight of even that idle thought hit home. While the expression didn't go unnoticed, it was misinterpreted.

A war, an actual war laid out before her like the pieces of a game, except those were real people and places it was happening to. Which, all in all, was just utterly fantastic. Just great. She had gone and popped into the life of a would-be child overlord in medieval Japan, complete with fortress, army, and council of demonic Generals. Her other Shadowkhan self would be drooling at the prospect no doubt. She was absolutely drowning in her own sarcasm, at least mentally. And this was just by listening to one General. She still had the giant and demon calamari to listen to, creepy as he looked.

But before she could get any farther into it, she was drawn from her musings by the sound of Ikazuki's sake saucer hitting the table, and him clearing his throat slightly before he resumed speaking. Not that she had even noticed him stop, but still that was a close call. Thankfully, she managed to keep her composure and not jump at the sound.

"And that, your Highness, concludes my report. Given the command to cease the standby and resume the battle, we can easily take virtually the entire eastern quarter of Kyushu in a fortnight, if not sooner. The Daimyo's are weak, and their armies are mere human rabble dressed in armor. Ashigeru, they could amount to something as such troops can, but their morale and leadership is equally poor. In an attempt to compensate for these shortcomings they seem to have swept up every man who can bear a weapon as if mere numbers could save them.

"The last I saw of the lines, a mere boy of fourteen years held a bow and arrow trembling beneath the banner of his master. Pitiful to behold, truly. I took it upon myself to at least give him a swift ending to his story, and he responded with surprising amount of honor, even as he trembled.

"Even the great samurai that lead are but loud and lazy men in gilded armor too tight for their bellies. Barely worth the effort to gut, much less a challenge to your forces. The true warriors fell battling our invasion of their coast years past. Such men are now far and few between, and are commanded by the old men and cowards who did not bestir themselves to that glorious company or fled in disgrace. I doubt they will meet us, in all likelihood they will cower in their fortresses with what strength they can muster in the vain hope of weathering our onslaught.

"And not to speak lightly of their kind, but the sorcerers they send to "purge" us are but weak and wizened men of years with but flash and powder to their name. With the coffers of Kyushu ever dwindling such refuse is all they can afford.

"The monks are of some concern. Shinto and Buddhist, the temples remain strong and a few exorcists of note have made their way to the lines planning to make a stand against us. But these holy men could never do more than be a rock to slow our wheels. We shall drown their efforts in our armies' might. I myself could best them all without drawing my blades.

Kyushu is all but yours, and we await your command to make it so your Highness," Ikazuki concluded. True he had also heard rumors that a sage of some sorts had made the passage to Kyushu. But as of yet even the sage's existence was a rumor upon the night winds. Nothing to concern Her Majesty with.

The Tengu* had been the only actual concern and their sometimes allies had stated they would have no quarrel so long as their territory and sovereignty was respected in the utmost; Ikazuki could almost thank Hiruzen for that bit of diplomacy. Though on the other hand the Tengu would certainly have made worthy opponents…

A moment before, Jade had been drowning in her own sarcasm and thoughts as she tried to make sense of everything. Now? Now she was all but sick to her core. It was not the way he so calmly and casually talked, but what it was about. He had easily and off-handily admitted to killing a young boy, not much older then her, and not just that, most likely many more. And to him it was no big deal; he only mentioned it even to prove his twisted point in bad mouthing the human protectors.

Suddenly, it hit her, truly hit her with understanding, that she had an army that was conducting a war. An army that was loyal to her, and did what she commanded, and they were out there killing people. Killing people for her, likely on her orders. He talked about gutting people as if it was an everyday affair, and she realized it might very well be just that. He talked about conquering a sizable part of Japan as if it was nothing to him. She had studied wars in school, and knew that the farther back in time you went the more brutal it became. Everyday people would not be distinguished from soldiers; they would just be killed along with them and anyone else that hefted a weapon for their homes.

And it wouldn't just be the Shadowkhan. The human leaders would have young boys drafted to serve from everywhere to fight the invaders, _her_ invaders.

Suddenly, for Jade, her situation took a very sharp turn for the worse. She had assumed this was just like before, just like the last time she had been turned into a Shadowkhan by an evil tattoo. She would have the Shadowkhan wrapped around her finger, and could get away with whatever she wanted; except she was actually herself and not some crazy would-be child queen.

She would act like she was expected to by the surprisingly verbal and apparently more independently intelligent Shadowkhan until she figured everything out and found her way home, or a way to get in contact with Uncle and maybe Jackie if he was finished being Shen-jacked and they could come rescue her. So what if things were a bit weirder then normal? Weird was the norm when adventuring with Jackie. Stuck back in time? Piece of cake. Uncle would whip up some magic-mojo and she would be back in time for school and the baddies would be beaten and the Big Baddie would be sent packing with his tail between his/her legs.

No, not this time. This time, _she_ was the Big Baddie, even if she was not in heart, mind, and spirit. That is what everyone around her thought. She was the leader; she was the one in charge. Could she honestly hope to have Uncle and Jackie save her this time?

Oh gods, she hoped so.

Because this was not some evil trying to break free, this was evil on the loose and causing all the problems you hear about in the opening of a story. And in a cruel irony not lost on her situation was a mirror opposite; before she had been delusional with power and the Shadowkhan at her fingertips as her puppets pretending to be a big shot. She was still pretending, but now she was trapped in the role and the Shadowkhan could well turn on her in a moment of they realized the truth.

Her thoughts darting back to story formula she realized this sounded like the situation where a hero arose to fight the seemingly invincible dark force. Normally she would be all for it, but right now she would be the mark for any aspiring hero!

Either way, they were apparently waiting for a response from her, as she felt their eyes upon her. Still reeling, Jade realized that she needed to deal with it later, or else she might just get killed. So that is what she did, and she shoved the disturbing thoughts and shaking revaluations to the back of her mind.

Not trusting her voice or even trying to open her mouth, she tried to put it behind her for the moment and nodded at the lizard demon, before turning to the giant and repeating the gesture. There had been no thought behind her choice of the giant over the squid thing; at the most her subconscious urged her towards the less inhuman.

But unwittingly Jade had dropped a bombshell that, while not equal to those that she had so rudely received, had been no less potent. Even oft inscrutable Hiruzen cocked an eyebrow, while Ikazuki for a moment failed to repress a sneer. Kuro's calm demeanor was only broken by the tightening grip on his saucer, the only outward sign of the confused anger that lead him to chase his own thoughts for answers.

The giant, Ozeki, nodded as Ikazuki settled himself with an unmistakable aura of satisfaction. For the samurai the day had in short order become nothing short of splendorous. He would have been more than satisfied at the honor done to him by giving his report first, which was the first time the young Queen had ever bestowed such favor on him. He had angrily, and grudgingly, resigned to the fact he would never hold favor with the Queen as he had with her mother and other royalty. But now, while this could be some errant fluke he could dare to hope the wind of change was guiding his vessel finally into the harbor of favor.

The slight done to the ever-scheming Kuro was a sweet end to polish off this tiding of good fortune. It was time the Queen recognized her error in placing such faith in Kuro and his tribe over the true might of the court. Perhaps, if matters still favored him when the ceremony was to come about, he could press for action on that thrice-cursed Tobi and its withered Lord? Far too long had they now resisted them, time and time again pushing back against their raids, even holding that otherwise worthless stretch of land that stood between the offending coastal city and Shikoku. As he settled, he started to slowly stew on the insults delivered to himself and the Queen by the humans of that coastal city.

Off to the side, however, Hiruzen was puzzled. He had seen no signs of Her Majesty's views shifting, and while true that she had a certain impulsiveness often born of youth that trait had not manifested in matters of the court. Not necessarily a vice, after all a meek ruler was like a dull blade, usable after a fashion but never achieving the potential of one with a lethal edge, but still. He pondered and thought to himself. It was a well-known fact that the Queen disliked violence and war, and was slow on the matter where it was concerned. As such, the Queen had always held a passive dislike for the Samurai General and his warmongering ways.

While not entirely good, Hiruzen himself had no love lost for the samurai as well. If the favor of the court was shifting, he would have to make himself acutely aware of where it was shifting. Perhaps this was the sign of a small bit of growth? If she was starting to accept the war and was willing to continue it...

_"I shall consult with her later, while this is no great thing if this is born of foolishness rather than cunning or growth it needs correcting," _Hiruzen decided. Satisfied with his course of action Hiruzen stilled his thoughts to better observe all around him.

Ozeki was the only one to remain truly as calm as his appearance, as he prepared for his report, placing a wide scroll on the table and a brush and ink well to the side. Unrolling the scroll he took a moment to confirm it was indeed the relevant information before bowing his head to his deceptively calm Queen and speaking.

"Now, I, Ozeki of the Sumo Tribe, shall state the most recent report on the empire's holdings and the integrity of its inhabitants."

Now, many could, and would, attest that Jade was not exactly the most attentive when it came down to the unimportant things in life. At least, unimportant according to her strange ranking of priorities and scale of relevancy. So, when Ozeki started rumbling off long tedious lists and numbers, her mind started to numb. Like so many lectures from teachers, parents or Jackie Chan himself the words first faded and then blurred together like Charlie Brown's teacher and finally became background noise to her own thoughts. Tuning things out was a skill she had long honed, allegedly in the name of retaining her sanity.

Jade was thankful for this, as it helped her enter that patent-pending state of mental ambiguity that any would-be daydreamer learned to pull off in order to look attentive while off in their own little world. It was a godsend, as it helped her take her mind off of the unpleasant things brought up by Ikauzki. In a twist of irony not unnoticed or really appreciated by Jade her boast about the skill being a sanity defense had come true as she pulled herself together behind the wall of the tune-out.

That was, until she got another bombshell. Though, in this case it was more like a battering ram breaking through the walls of inattentiveness to quickly seize the keep of perception. She was really going to learn how to dodge these moments, this couldn't be healthy, a sarcastic part of her commented.

But as it was, she jolted, suddenly giving her undivided attention to Ozeki. As it was, only Hiruzen noted the change in posture and while not exactly pleased he was far from surprised.

"On a separate note, the slave holdings are doing well. The general slave population is acceptably docile, and rebellion and dissension are at an all time low. While they continue in general to resent our presence, conditions are such that little to no seeds of active rebellion thrive. Rabble-rousers are not causing trouble since the majority fear association with such activity and actually have been discovered to quietly dispose of troublemakers to avoid the potential wrath of overseers. A most promising development. And of course we maintain our informants in the slave ranks, a system that has thrived with your Majesty's three-year plan. The loss of labor with the release of informants is far made up for by the greater efficiency of the areas we employ the system in.

"However, I do not think we can extend the system, since we cannot safely release humans on any conditions after they gain even passive knowledge of our core territories.

"Even with this, however, there are still moments where the slave's have become unruly. One such incident occurred in a processing camp to the north but a week past, normally used to process freshly acquired slaves from our coastal raids. In the course of one such raid, a village militia damaged one of the ships shortly before they were dealt with. As it stood, the ship was unable to make the needed journey to our shipyards for repairs without first unloading the prisoners, which also contained the crew of a warship belonging to some minor lord. Normally, they would be sent to a different camp, but the ship would have been unable to survive the trip.

"As such, they were forced to offload them with the captured villagers. Shortly afterwards, they apparently discovered a hidden stockpile of weapons we later discovered had been created by a earlier shipment of slaves in plans for a rebellion that was cut short. Armed, they attempted to stage a revolt amid the other slaves and attacked the resident Slave-master and his forces. Thankfully, they were betrayed quickly and were put down before serious damage was done to the camp. As it stands, the Overseer's office and a part of the storehouse were lost in a resulting fire, and three guards were injured. With only a minor loss in the records and some basic supplies, the revolt can be considered a total failure."

Internally, Jade was breathing deeply as she worked to keep the unpleasantness brought forth by Ikazuki and process Ozeki's little nugget of sunshine as well. Outwardly, she managed to hold her composure and retrain herself from an outburst. She wanted to say something, anything!

But she could not.

An evil Queen would not show concern for slaves, so she would try not too, at least openly. But inside, her stomach had soured at the thought. Either way, the broad Ozeki placed the scroll back underneath the table and bowed, apparently finished. Once again, they waited for a signal of some sort from her, and Jade simply nodded. If she could not trust her voice before, she could not trust to even open her mouth now.

She doubted, with all honesty, that she could not keep from emptying her guts onto the floor if she did.

Either way, Ozeki continued his report. And as it went, some of Jade's revulsion was relived as more facts were laid. And while she was still sick from the idea, Shadowkhan apparently treated their slaves fairly well from the sounds of it. Of course, if she was in control, she was sure as heck going to try and change that before she left. Maybe start some sort of mass rebellion and get them to safety. The thought was comforting in its own way, and lent its strength to Jade's conviction to return home.

After that, she just nodded and feigned various expressions as Ozeki continued to detail his report in an almost painful manner. It was actually harder then it sounded, and all this acting was really starting to make her face hurt. Apparently happy that he had managed to please his Queen in someway, Ozeki was continuing on a bit more energetically then before.

Thankfully, Jade was spared any more bombshells dropping on her. Instead, as the report wound down, she started to steel herself for what was virtually inevitable when the demon calamari gave his report. But to be honest, she wasn't sure she could take another report like the last two. First it was warmongering, then slaving. She was almost expecting that next they were going to report that those half dozen orphanages had been burnt to the ground just like she ordered, with every little orphan boy and girl still inside and afterward they had danced and made merry on the ashes.

No, she actually was expecting it.

The sharp and pointy grin of the demon calamari was not helping either. If it was any other situation, she would swear up and down to everyone around her that only sharks and dinosaurs had business having that many teeth. It was the kind of grin that was split into two meanings. The "I'm going to eat you" meaning, and the "I have a secret that I want to share" meaning. Both had her trying not to twitch in her seat. Once again, thank gods for natural talent. She observed as the inhuman figure took a drink of whatever it was drinking, before straightening up in his seat. This one just took a breath, and started to speak in a guttural tone, an odd mix of a rasp and a gurgle.

"Now it is time for I, Kuro of the Ika Tribe, to present my report on the status of the Honshu coastline and the Island Sea as well as our Navel efforts."

Far from the relaxed tone that his raspy voice offered, Kuro was actually far from being relaxed or remotely pleased. No, that was an understatement; he had fully expected to be called on first, with Her Majesty eager to hear of the state of her pet project. Instead he was last in her interest and supplanted by Ikazuki of all things.

Yet, he was not Ikazuki; allowing emotions to color his actions would be of no benefit. He could not think of anything he or Ikazuki had done to alter their place in the Queen of Shadows' favor, so he concluded the status had not truly been altered. This was a test.

Yes, it was quite sensible when you thought about it. Ikazuki was a creature of emotion and he would play a vital role in the coming war. Much of his dissatisfaction was already fading and would leave him clearer headed on the battlefield as opposed to acts of extremism to try and garner favor. It was a carrot before a horse, and the Queen acknowledged he would recognize such a state rather then impotently stewing as the samurai did.

Nonetheless, there was sill the matter of saving face among his peers. No great task, after all he was the only one among those present to appreciate the value of showmanship.

Jade, on the other hand, had to resist the urge to put herself out of her misery. Warmongering, slavery, and now if she guessed right she had a fleet of pirates out there doing gods know what. She somehow doubted it was sailing for adventure like they made pirates out to do like in her own time. More likely plundering, pillaging and burn down everything you can't carry back with you. Add in the fact that Ozeki had mentioned that they were raiding the coastline and Island Sea, and she was fairly certain of the fact. So far, the life she had popped into was getting uglier and uglier by the minute. And as Kuro started to go into detail with his report, she was proved right.

"So far, while not a completely dominant force, our Suigun* forces are still strong and feared upon the waves. We control much of the sea between the two coasts, and our forces reap great rewards from foolish traders or would-be Clan Ships while smugglers and the pirate ships foolish enough to attack us are quickly dealt with.

"Concerning Kyushu, our ships circle it like sharks about a sinking vessel. Traders no longer seek port fearing the loss of their ships and commerce between Kyushu and the human domains of Honshu is now conducted by the vassals of the Kyushan daimyos, who while brave and loyal enough to partake such a task our easy prey our reavers. Only the fastest and lightest of their ships have a chance to escape the blockade, or the slightest hope of returning past it. Even then, the supplies from such are barely worth the effort at all. A single ship like that barely has the cargo space to support even a small outpost, much less the fortresses of the various lords.

"By your will though, we have sought to seize these ships for ourselves from the humans and add those of worthy build to our own ranks. While many of the vessels have proven of poor quality or too damaged in the taking, we have added an additional fifteen vessels to our fleet since you made your will known. With this, we shall soon possess the might on the waves needed to ferry and supply an overwhelming force on Kyushu, while maintaining a true blockade about the island.

"In other matters, all along the coast of Honshu our ships are sailing and taking anything they deem of worth to your empire. From the fishing villages and ships we secure a great many slaves and other material. Much of which, I must add, is due to your wise judgment, your Highness. If not for your decision to steal the secrets of the Black Powder from the land of China, and the mighty weapons known as "Cannons" from the Men from across the Sea, these successes would have never come to be. With them, our foes cower and tremble as our ships boom and thunder and they find their hulls torn asunder. Thanks to them, we have easily won many victories. Even mighty harbors which we had never entertained the idea of raiding we bombard now, taking little but inspiring fear and chaos in those lands as never before. Only Tobi's defiance continues to stand firm against our forces.

"The only matter of concern, your Highness, is the growing involvement of a so called pirate lord. His vessels smuggle into Kyushu and even dare to challenge our weaker vessels with audacity. These pirates are skilled smugglers and I am ashamed to admit that even as we waylay one vessel another reaches its port. Their skill in battle is also great enough that four of our more minor vessels, mostly patrol or small supply ships, have vanished. After extensive searching, we have had no choice but to presume them lost and that the crews have meet definite casualties in combat against these humans.

"We have also yet to seize a single ship of this pirate fleet. Without fail when they deem the ship is lost to us they set oil coated holds ablaze, consigning themselves to the depths even as they do battle, and I have come to reconsider rumors that this Pirate King possesses the blood or favor of Ryujuin to inspire such in his men. We have not met such challenge from mere humans since the destruction of the Slayer Clan.

"Yet despite these difficulties we have attained more wealth, treasure and slaves than ever before in our history. I assure your Majesty and my esteemed peers, this is but a sampling of what my tribe brings to the Imperial coffers from beyond Shikoku's shores," Kuro grinned as he rose from his seat. He could feel the weight of his Queens's attention on him; if there were any doubts about her merits he would now erase them in the splendor of conquest.

With but a wave of his hand (tentacle), the formerly dark room was lit as great blinds and shutters were pulled open and allowed the late-afternoon sun to stream in. Jade had to shield her eyes slightly, as the sudden light stung and blinded her from being in the warm darkness too long. If she were able to actually see at the moment, she would have noticed that for the most part the Generals reacted similarly, with the exception of Hiruzen who had shielded himself at the last moment. After blinking herself free from the spots coloring her eyesight she could see that Kuro was no longer at the table, but had moved to a previously unseen door and was ushering something through.

And as Jade watched what seemed to be a progression of some sort start to march through the door with Kuro taking the head, she felt her jaw drop slightly. She offhandedly heard the shattering of something off to the side along with something similar to a reproving snort. From the corner of her eye, she could see Ikazuki angrily sweeping something into his hand off the table with a silent snarl on his face and Ozeki was looking put out for some reason.

Not like Jade couldn't guess why, what with the massive haul of loot that Kuro was marching towards her with the help of some of the Samurai Shadowkhan, and some especially large ones that she had to guess belonged to Ozeki. If anything, they shared proportions with him and Tohru, except they had far bulkier arms then the T-man and were garbed in a strange parody of ninja outfits complete with hoods and heavy plates of armor. It still took a moment for Jade to pick her jaw off the floor.

Just in time as well, for Kuro marched it all around the massive table and to the foot of the throne and laid it to rest, the escort for it vanishing off to the sides and leaving Kuro smiling a predator's smile as he stood beside it all.

And she had to admit, it was impressive.

It was all but an almost literal mountain of treasure, precious gems and golden coins with elaborate carvings set with silver and more laden into chests. She could even see armor and weapons dotting the king's ransom at her feet. It was hard not to let her eyes go wide at the sight. There was more here then she thought she had really ever seen up close. Her sight drifted to what dominated the haul however.

A massive statue, easily as tall as one of those Sumo-Khan (or whatever they were called) and almost as wide and bore the resemblance of a massive eight-headed snake, with each head bearing some sort of headdress similar to a samurai's war helm. Even more, it was carved out of what appeared to be some sort of ivory or something similar, and every inch set with individual emeralds shaped into scales except what counted as the snakes' "belly". The eyes were rubies set into a fierce gaze, and the helms on each head bore a distinct style and were crafted out of what appeared to a vast array of materials, most precious if she could guess.

On an estimate, Jade would think that the statue itself was probably worth just as much as the entire pile of treasure.

And then there was Kuro, who once again had far more teeth then he had business having. Her instinct was screaming at her that she was not going to be able to really nod her way outta this one. She needed to actually say something, and say something good. The guy might be creepy, but he just hauled more treasure then most museums had and from the aura in the air it was all to impress her. Generally, her knowledge of how things worked was that she was supposed to praise him or something. But how exactly do you praise for what he did to get it? The thought had that small ball of illness in her gut squirming again.

She had to think and fast.

Thankfully, life-saving inspiration as always struck as it did in times of need. She composed herself, and put on her best face. Looking down on Kuro, she spoke carefully as she made to keep herself from sounding too appreciative or too dismissive.

"Impressive, most impressive, but we still have some distance to go before achieving our empire's goals," Jade declared, channeling Darth Vader, a certain veiled sarcasm behind her words.

"These successes please me, and it is good you are so forthcoming on the troubles you are finding on the waves. Despite the difficulties this 'pirate lord' is gibing you, you are able to present a literal mountain of treasure to the court," Jade continued, trying to keep the evil overlord juice flowing, complimenting the lackey while maybe sticking it to him between the lines. Though she was curious about a pirate lord – could this faction of humans and a possible demigod leader be the hero she was dreading moments ago?

"I can only hope you will continue to meet such success in the use of the new weapons, and your new vessels," Jade added the last part as an afterthought. She was silent after that, and apparently the elegantly dressed Khan took that as a dismissal since he made a small hand motion to Kuro.

Jade sighed internally as Kuro slithered back to the table with an air of superiority and victory. If she didn't know better, she would have expected the demonic calamari to break out into a victory dance. The very thought of something like_that_ trying to dance to any sort of rhythm sent mental shivers up her spine and threatened the sanctity of her breakfast. She watched as the collection of Shadowkhan returned from their shadows at the edges of the room, and one by one hauled away the treasures before and to the sides and out of sight.

Suddenly, and quite loudly as well, the gong was rang and she almost jumped right out of her seat and a good six feet in the air and would have as well if not for the fact that her legs were beneath her. Looking over to her side, she saw Hiruzen setting down the ringer for the gong and stand for once, having been seated and silent for the entirety of the meeting. Looking back forward, she now noticed that the three Generals were bowing deeply. Suddenly, Hiruzen spoke.

"That concludes this meeting. On behalf of the Queen, I think you, our loyal Generals, for your reports and efforts to the prosperity of Her Majesty's Empire. You are dismissed."

With that, Jade watched as each of the Generals filed out of the room, using the large door towards the rear or unnoticed side doors. Suddenly, Jade found herself enveloped in a discomforting silence. In another moment, the various shutters and blinds were drawn once again and she was left in darkness, with only the fluttering glow of candlelight. Believing it safe to do so, she descended from the throne. At the bottom, Hiruzen waited.

"Are you ready to return to the tower, My Queen?"

She looked at him for a moment, red eyes to his orangish-yellow ones before she nodded and responded evenly.

"Yes, please. I would like to return and see to a few things."

Hiruzen bowed, and gestured towards the door behind the throne.

"As you wish, your Highness."

8888

The door closing behind her was like the closing to both a crypt and to salvation. She was back in "her" room once more, and free from observation. All that tension, all that restraint and careful control that she was so unused to enforcing on herself, she simply let go of it and slumped briefly against the surprisingly soft wood. Jade pressed her hand to her chest, trying to quell the frenzied beating inside but not able to quell the smile that crept onto her face at the familiar feeling. The sudden rush of adrenaline and pumping blood was something that comforted her.

She had done it, she had no idea how really, but she had done it. She had held herself together through the meeting and distant horrors it brought to her. She had even managed to keep her composure throughout, and had only allowed it to break once she was safely back in the tower.

She hauled herself off the door, and almost drunkenly wove her way to the bed where she flopped as best she could onto the expansive bed, not truly caring for the expensive kimono she was wearing or the slight touch of sweat on her brow as she breathed in deeply. It had been trying, somehow more so than some of the dangers she had faced with Jackie but she had succeeded.

That is, if only for today.

But Jade shook the thought from her mind, instead settling for basking in her achievement for the moment. The entire meeting had thrown so much at her; she was struggling to truly grasp it all. This place, this time, it seemed so much more... darker? Or was it bloodier? The way that one General had so casually spoke of killing people, of conquering…

She sighed, the rush fading as Jade could feel her heart start to slow and a weight settled on her. How? How had this happened, and why? This was not her life; this was not the way things were. She seemed to be trapped, trapped in a world where she could not hope for a hero or be a hero herself, since the only hero she could expect to come was most likely going to be coming for her head.

Jade reached up, and took the little silver headdress off and into her hands and simply looked at it.

It was simplicity in itself yet beautiful and intricate, polished to a shine and adorned with various small gems and made to sit behind her head. It was the crown that you would expect of a princess.

She had to strongly resist the urge to simply hurl it off her balcony.

She was here, stuck at the head of an empire built on blood, bones, and ashes. She had an army, generals, and servants that would do anything she told them. She had the wealth and power of an entire budding empire behind that, and her own realm out of one of the very home islands of Japan.

And the one thing she wanted... the one thing she wanted more than anything right now, the one thing that would make her happy...

And she couldn't ask for it!

This time, she did throw the headdress, but retained enough sense to throw it at one of the oversized pillows at the head of the bed where it sunk into the down with a slight poof. Jade did not know what would happen if she revealed who she really was, but she could imagine it would not be good. She had usurped their ruler, one they were loyal to a fault for.

She could only shiver slightly at the images that passed through her mind at the thought. But after that, she scowled as she sat up. Hand to her chin, she started to think.

"I need to figure something out, and soon. I need info; I need to know everything I can about this. What does Uncle do when he needs to figure out stuff? He goes off and reads a bunch of books. But where am I..."

Jade froze, and smiled. She remembered, she remembered that time when she had both exited and then later entered the tower, and seen the marked doors on her way up the elevator. She was willing to bet Uncle's blowfish and salamander that the one marked "Knowledge" was some sort of library or at least something related to it.

She stood up, quickly sliding on the slippers she had kicked off and made for the door only to freeze as she reached for the handle.

Was she actually allowed out of this room? Would they let her? Or was she expected to be some sort of reclusive ruler that appeared only in ceremony or functions? She simply stared at the handle, as her mind warred over which action to take.

Should she advance?

Or should she retreat?

Her features hardened at the thought. She was a Chan, and a Chan only retreats to advance!

She stopped herself from throwing open the door, and restrained herself to opening it calmly. Looking around, and seeing no ninjas or samurai showing up out of nowhere, she carefully pulled out the wrinkles in the kimono to avoid questions and did her best impression of a royal walk as she headed for the stairs.

Each step down was a test in its own, as each step she waited for something to spring out of the shadows and whisk her away back to the room at the top of the tower. In a sense it was tenser than before, since if this proved right then she could not help but feel that things would become hopeless for her.

Thankfully, her fears were unfounded as she made it down the stairs and flights untouched and she came to the marked door she had seen before. But while untouched, Jade could not help but feel that she was not unwatched...

8888

Hiruzen nodded, dismissing the guard who had come to report to him as always of the Queen's movements. He looked up to the Queen's plateau and the tower upon it. It was the perfect time now, to approach the young ruler with his questions of earlier.

He had watched her grow for some years now, since the passing of the Queen mother and knew that the child was the most relaxed when she spent time among the books. He could not help but think that the Queen would have been much better suited to rule before the time of her Grandmother.

Either way, he needed to approach now. It was well known to him that after spending time in the library that the Queen would often retreat to her private quarters and would not be disturbed except for matters of great importance. But as he made to step into the shadows, he remembered something, a report from this morning that reminded him that he had another stop.

After all, it would not do for the clumsy slave to get away with burning the tongue of the Queen. Innocent as it was, it would not go unpunished.

And to be truthful, Hiruzen could use it as an outlet. He would not want to approach Her Highness tense, and it was almost that time once again.

But underneath his mask, he allowed a small smile. One must enjoy their work as well, and the Queen did like her tea and a small meal while she read. It would be a perfect chance to deal with everything at once, and Hiruzen did like efficiency. She would be much more receptive to answering his questions this way.

With that, he vanished into the darkness.

888

Jade gingerly traced the yellowed yet cared for scrolls as she read, finding that she had indeed gained a perfect understanding of the Japanese language both written and spoken. It was perhaps the only reason that she had not yet paid any real attention to the library itself beyond racing down to the second floor and grabbing the first and most recently used scroll she could find.

If she had paid attention to the room itself, she would have seen that unlike the subdued yet still prestigious rooms she had been in so far, this one lacked that air and settled for one of comfort and informality. Books, scrolls, and various other methods of record keeping lined the walls and sat on podiums scattered throughout with comfortable mats and cushions placed around low-slung tables.

She might have also noticed a particularly large volume, tucked away to one end of the room and set in its own little alcove lit by amber lanterns.

If she had been able too, she might have found exactly what she might have needed to find. But, it was not to be. For the moment, she was satisfied with had she had.

And yet, there was so much missing, Jade thought as she set the older scroll down, and instead took up a newer looking one and thought to herself.

_"There is so much here, but is it what I need? I have to get out of here, I have to get back to Jackie and Uncle and my life!"_

Thankfully, she was in luck. The newer scroll had more recent information, and she read on in earnest. All that mattered now was that she was learning what she needed, and she was learning it as quickly as she could.

But then her head almost twisted off her shoulders as knocking sounded above her on the second floor above, and she heard the door start to open...

888

"Will there be anything else, elder?" the innkeeper asked, making his way up to the old man seated at the lonely bench further down. Never had he seen such a deeply lined face as the one that peeked out from the broad straw hat that covered his head and obscured much.

"No," he answered in voice dry and harsh as a midsummer wind.

"Well in that case the due is..." the innkeeper began. Much closer to his sole customer he flinched back as a gnarled hand swung up to almost hit him in the nose. His look of worry gave way to a vacant look as his eyes slipped out of focus.

"I already paid, left a nice tip," the old man stated. He lowered his hand and the innkeeper's eyes came back into focus, his face lighting up.

"You are most generous, good fortune on your journey," the innkeeper bowed before withdrawing.

"Shameless sorcery," a new voice growled. The innkeeper turned and was shocked at the sight of three Shinto monks brushing aside the entrance hanging. They were younger than the ones who came down from the shrine normally and what's more they were anything but serene. No, they were angry and looked keen to vent that anger in a way befitting holy men.

"Return what you stole and we will let you keep your thieving hand," the apparent leader announced as his companions moved to flank the shriveled elder, who did not stir from his seat.

"I have stolen nothing, boy," the accused answered. Turning and tilting his head ever so slightly a single one of his near luminescent eyes was revealed under his hat rim to the lead monk. Unperturbed, the monk sneered and held out a fist moving into a stance.

"Do you think we are an order of fools? You were granted shelter at our shrine more than a fortnight ago and repaid our kindness by stealing a most ancient scroll in our keeping! Wizard!" he accused, his fellow monks falling into threatening stances. The poor innkeeper backed away from the confrontation, his tray held to his chest.

"I do not deny taking the scroll, I deny stealing it," the wizard explained. This set the monks back with the two subordinates looking to their leader baffled by the statement.

"You see stealing implies ownership. Knowledge rightfully belongs to those willing to seek it out and those with the will to apply it. Your order let it gather dust on a shelf because you found its teachings too dark for comfort. That along with lacking the power to keep me from taking it shows you were not worthy of owning such a treasure."

"So rather than stealing the scroll, I would say I liberated it from undeserving weaklings," the wizard elaborated with a bored tone, lowering his head again as if dismissing the lead monk.

"You call us weak? We are no peasants to be easily swayed by your magic. Let us see how your frail form hails against the disciplines of our order," the lead monk laughed. As one the monks sprang; a bamboo rod shot out of the wizard's sleeve and a flash of green light flared across the room.

The wizard made his way slowly but with the grace of one not burdened by undue years, around the monks frozen in mid strike, impressed at their balance to not fall when he struck. He turned to regard the innkeeper cowering in the corner behind his tray.

"They will regain their mobility in about a week. Tell them I was merciful on a whim. Should these children continue to provoke their betters they will receive a proper lesson from Himitsu," Himitsu told the terrified man before vanishing through the entrance into the world.

888

The scratch and clack of the geta* on the dirt and stone with accompaniment by the soft pish of cloth in the breeze was a comforting, if somewhat lonely, sound on the roads leading in to Tobi from the surrounding farmland. A small smile could be seen as a figure slowly walked down the road, garbed in a sturdy Hakama* with little in the way of outstanding color.

Instead, the garment was rather dark in a sense, whites and blacks forming a strange contrast to the small red stitching of a clan symbol that made its home over the heart of the traveler while a hand found a familiar home on the hilt of an unadorned katana at their waist. A simple kasa* sheltered them from the hot sun, and in turn sheltered their faces from sight.

Said kasa turned up slightly, as the sounds of shouts and scuffling along with pleading words reached the figure's ears, and looking up could see a small cloud of dust being raised up ahead. The kasa turned back down, and a frown would be barely scene along with a slight huff and a curse.

The figure hurried their pace, and quickly came to the source of the sounds to find a rather unfortunate scene. An old woman, most likely a farmer by her outfit, had been surrounded and thrown to the ground by a ragged band of young men.

"Forgive! I meant no disrespect samurai!" the old woman coughed out as she kowtowed on the packed dirt of the road. An eyebrow cocked at the word samurai, and the eye beneath did pick out the topknots on the ragged men. Also that one of them was holding a pack in his hands, presumably the woman's.

"You filthy peasants, you think we're blind, that we don't see your arrogance? You dare to smirk at your betters!" the apparent leader said as he kicked her clear onto her side.

Ronin, survivors of some lost battle, their master lost to them. Either they had fled with haste or had been unbound for some time judging by their appearance, left to seek service with a new lord. They looked to live as beggars or bandits until the day they hope some noble will take them in. Hard times making the people hard, and brittle if the near mad glint in this one's eye was any indication. The frown deepened as the lead ronin drew his sword smiling, relishing that he controlled someone's fate if not his own.

"Boy, what are you looking at?" the most unkempt of the ronin demanded of the stranger.

"He carries steel, but no daisho. Another up jumped peasant," the thief among them sneered.

_"Dogs, in order to survive they have given up any pretense of bushido. A wretched fate, now no one would have them as more than arrow catchers,"_ the traveler thought. Though there was very little pity; these men had chosen their fate and become part of the disease consuming the land.

"Well answer the question, peasant. There are laws about respecting class you know," the leader turned away from the old farmer, his maddened attention falling on the traveler. His eyes narrowed in growing fury at the plain but fine attire, and above all the clan symbol that declared this one belonged somewhere.

"Men, I think this one needs a lesson too," the leader spat. Some of the ronin were stony, while others displayed maddened glee as they surrounded the traveler. The kasa hid the face of their new victim, the frown slight as the ronin drew their katana.

At some unspoken signal the ragged men charged.

A mistake, they would later learn they were lucky to have the chance to realize.

One moment, victory – if it could be called that – and another beating was assured, but the next their victim was gone, leaving nothing but the Kasa in midair as they all fell to their knees and gasping for breath while their chests flared in pain. The leader looked back, eyes squinted as he bore through the crushing agony in his chest to see the villager lightly rest on the balls of their feet and silently sheath the blade he had not even heard being drawn.

He looked down, expecting to pull his hand away and feel the wetness of blood and see the red painting his hands. Instead, the light under armor he was wearing was all but shattered and the pain starting to fade slightly. But then he heard it.

A slight thud and a sudden lightness. A hand wandered to the back of his head, and found his topknot missing. An almost frantic search revealed it on the ground next to him. Similar sounds reached his ears from around him and he looked to his partners in crime. First one knot of hair fell, then another and another. The ronin looked to the ground in shock, another daring to touch the top of head and confirm his topknot had been severed.

The traveler turned back to face them as the kasa finally hit the ground and skirted to the edge of the road in the wind. The face was now revealed, and the fair features they had glanced now clearly belonged to no boy. Soft, yet strangely sharp and lethally beautiful angles, red lips held in a thin unforgiving line. Shoulder length hair of a raven's wing swayed gently in a breeze, where sharp metal pins did not hold it up.

"The answer to your question, I was looking at mongrels and parasites, that were once men," she told them flatly as she rested her hand once more on the hilt of her sword. Something broke in them; they fled in disarray and despair, some not even returning steel to sheath.

Picking up the old woman's pack she placed it next to the wide-eyed farmer before continuing on the road to Tobi.

* * *

Translations and Meanings

_Nagai Kage Kyassuru: Castle of the Long Reaching Shadow (Rough Translation)_

_Suigun: Aquatic Samurai Forces, or the Equivalent of Warriors trained to fight at sea._

_Tengu: A race of Japanese Kami that live in the mountains of Japan. Regarded as Patron spirits of Martial arts, Nature, and so forth._

_Geta: A type of footwear, normally a sturdy sandal raised off the ground by two stilt like pegs made of wood_

_Hakama: A sturdy type of of clothing, normally worn by males and coming in many styles, from formal wear to more practical uses. Traditionally worn by nobility or Samurai._

_Kasa: A conical hat woven from varying materials based on used._

**AN: **Far too long for a update, but life called for a Haitus and I had to leave everything till I was actually able to pay serious time to it. Now, I am back and working on updating. I am sorry for making all my readers wait so long, and yes, I will be updating other stories soon as well. I hope to get to a far more often update pattarn. Thanks to Eduard, for helping me in times of creative need and more, and Zim for Betaing. I hope you enjoyed this.


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